Portable cabinet.



A. H. SGHAFFERT. PORTABLE OABINET.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 13, 1911.

1,047, 43 Patented Dec. 17,1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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INVENWOR #4 W mww my W A. H. SOHAFFERT.

PORTABLE CABINET.-

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 13, 1911.

Patented Dec. 17, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

a MM WAQM WITNEISS ES A. H. SOHAFFERT.

PORTABLE CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 13, 1911 Patented Dec. 17, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES W UNITED sT ME T OFFICE- snonrn; scnarrnn'r, or YOUNGSTOWN, 01110, ABSIGNOL. :0 ran GENERAL mnrnoorme COMPANY, or'YouNos'rowN, 01110, A conrom'rroN or OHIO.

ron'raimn CABINET- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Kay 13, 1911. Serial No. 626,912.

To all whom it may concern Be it kno'wn that I, Aoorlr H. SoHArrER'r,

a resident of Youngstown, in the county of Mahoning and State ofOhio, have invented a new. and \useful Improvement in Portable Cabinets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming Fig. 6 is a plan view of a portion of one of on a larger scale; Fig. 8 is a bottom per-- the sections; Fig. 7 shows a portion of Fig. 3

spective View of the top; 9 is an enlarged artial vertical longitudinal section on the ine IXIX of Fig. 3; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of one of the clamping devices; and Fig. 11 is a detail view of a portion of the handle. I My'invention relates to portable, sectional.

built'up' cabinets, which are usuallymounted V on wheels so as to be rolled into a safe at night, this device being known in the trade as an omnibus Heretofore in the manufacture of such cabinets, each one has been especially designed and then built to order.

Consequently, such devices have been ex pensive, each difl'ering from another in structure, and being made to order by hand. The object of my" invention is to provide a 7 structure of this character which is so constructedand arranged that dealers may keep in stock a number of different types of sections, and may select. from these sections and build up at the request of the customer any arrangement thereof which is desired, the

built-up sections then being clamped to ether by suitable clamping devices whichwil hold them in proper alinement on the truck, if such is used, and prevent their shiftin about on each other as the omnibus is move about.

Another object of my invention is to rovide clamping means for the sections w ich will hold them without the use of screws, bolts or rivets; and to provide for such clamping with varying heights to which the omnibus is built up.

A further object is to provide clamping devices of such character t at they may also Patented D... 17,1912.

be carried in stock by theldeal'er f easily and quickly applied orremovedwhile being adaptable to different hei hts of the cabinet after it is built up; and" a so providing for takingout one section after building up andreplacingit' with another section, if

the customer so desires.

In carrying out my invention, I bui1d up the cabinet from a series of horizontal sections, each typefof whichmay be kept in stock so that the customer may select any of these standard sections for building up. When these sections have been selected, the

omnibus is built up therefrom, giving the.

series of sections desired; and a top is then preferably placed on them and the sections secured together by clam ing devices so as t0 prov1de a strong-rigi structure which can be moved about with the truck without danger of displacingor injuring the sections. Each sectionmay be of any desired height, and may containfiling devices of different kinds; and eachsection may also be".

made of partial sections, such as half sect1ons,'of which two or more are necessary to complete the horizontal area covered by this complete section, which is the same as the it, so as to bring these sections into proper alinement in building them up and tie them together against easy displacement; and they are then clamped together preferably by corner strips which engage the corners of all the sections, and are suitably secured togcther to bind them in place. These angle ars may be carried in difierent lengths to fit the diflerent heights of omnibus which can be built up from the several types ofsections.

In the drawings I show a truck having end members 2, 2, consisting of flanged plates extending transversely, and front and rear members 3, 3, whose ends terminate short of the ends of the flanged members 2 and are firmly secured thereto, as by riveting, welding, or otherwise. On this truck, which usually eat ries casters 4, is fitted thebase member 5 which ii the form shown :onsists of an inclosing strip bent into rectangular form, and having top and bottominwardly projecting flanges 6 and 7. The ends of this bent strip may be butted together and secured by plate 8, which may be either riveted or spotwelded at the joint. The inwardly flanged ends of this base fit against the ends of the angle bars 2 2, thus preventing endwise movement, while the angle bars 33 fit against the front and rear flanges of the base, thus preventing forward or backward movement. The tops of the end flanges of this base section are provided with four headed buttons such as shown at 9, and the same is the case with thetop of each section. I The bottom of each complete section has corresponding slots 10 with enlarged end portions; so that by fitting the enlarged parts of these bottom holes over the heads of the buttons, and then shoving the fitted section rearwardly the smaller portion of the slot will engage with the neck of the button and hold the section into position after the manner of a bayonet lock.

In the form shown, the section 11 next to the bottom section is in the form of a box with an open front, this box being preferably formed by bending sheet metal into U- shape to form the top 12, the back 13 and the bottom 14. The ends of the box are closed by sheets 15, which are flanged. at top, back and bottom, and welded to the'top, back and bottom of the box section. The open front end of this section is shown as divided up in any desirable manner by vertical strips a, which are shown as of channel form with the legs of the channel projecting back- Wardly or inwardly. These channels may be secured by projecting their ends through slots in the top and -bottom, and splitting and bending them' over, or by a bolt extending within the channel and riveted in the top and bottom of thesection, or in any other desirable manner. Within the ends of each section I also preferably provide an inner llnishing filler, as shown at 16, this filler c nsisting of a plate or sheet having its edges flanged outwardly, these flanges being hidden when the filler is pushed into place. In this section, which is provided with filing devices 17, which may be slid in and out, the floor is provided with guideways to engage corresponding guides on the filing devices. These guides are shown as consisting of U-shaped channels 18 secured to the floor and extending from front to the back. The filing devices may be of any desirable form, and are providedwith suitable guides 19 on the bottom to engage the guideways on the floor of the section.

In the form shown four sections are provided, namely, 11, 20, 21 and 22, in additlon to the top section 23 and the bottom section 5. These sections are generally similar except the thin section 21, which is provided with-pull-out shelves 24. In this section the floor may be made of separated strips 25 and 26, as shown in Fig. 6, forward and back stops 27 and 28 being provided to limit the rearward and forward movements of the shelves. The shelves 24 may be guided asin the other sections or in any other desirable way. The top section 23 is preferably formed of a single sheet of metal with its edges flanged down to form the ends, front and back, these portions being provided with inwardly projecting flanges 30, of which the end flanges are provided with the bayonet slots.-

VVhen the sections have been built up and interlocked by the bayonet joint devices, the top is applied, and the clamping devices are then securedin place. These clamping devices may be of different forms, but should secure the sections together so that in pushing the omnibus about the sections will not be liable to displacement and the strains of pushing or pulling will be taken on the frame of the clamping device.

In the form shown the clamping devices consist of pairs of angle strips 31, as shown in Figs. 2 and 10, one leg of each angle having an inturned bead or rib portion 32, which is adapted to fit around the flangedin ends of the sect-ions, as shown at 33 in Figs. 5 and 6 for example. These pairs of clamping strips are kept in stock in different lengths to suit the different heights to which the sections kept in stock may be built up. They are preferably secured together by clamping rods 34 extending through apertured brackets or lugs 35 secufd to the strips and held by ornamental nuts 36 on their screw-threaded ends. On these rods I also provide a sliding movable spacer or spacers 37 having flat inner ends preferably faced with cloth or soft material which will not mar the end of the section. Any desirable number of these clamping rods may be llS'f'l. with one or more spacers. The spacers may be swung into position with the inner end engaging the section end, these spacers serving to prevent the rods from moving inwardly against the sections, and also preventing such leverage on the angle strips as would cause them to swing out and disengage as they are pulled together.

'In order to provide handles by which the omnibus may be moved about on the casters, I preferably fasten brackets 38 on each of the angle strips, these brackets being provided with a through-rod 39, having end nuts and a surrounding spacing sleeve 40, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11. The spacing sleeve preferably engages circular recesses in the brackets, and is held by drawing the nuts 41 to place. This handle not only serves as a means for moving the omnibus about, but also strengthens the structure.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, since not only is the structure cheapened in cost the built-up sections together, to give a strongstructure which may be moved about as desired.

Within the scope of my invention many changes may be made in the form and arrangement of the sections, the manner of building up and interlocking them, and also in the clamping devices for holding the sections together without departing from my invention.

I claim LA cabinet of the character described, composed of a plurality of separate horizontal sections placed one above another,

and vertically extending clamping members engaging the vertical corners of the sections and holdingthem in proper positions, said clamping members being of angular form to embrace the corners of the sections and one leg of each angle having an inturned bead or lip portion to fit around theinwardly flanged ends of the sections, substantially as described.

2..A cabinet of the character described, composed of.a plurality of separate horizontal sections placed one upon the other, and vertically extending clamping members engaging the vertical corners of the sections and holding them in their proper positions, said .clamping members being arranged in pairs, one pair at each end of the structure, and the members of each pair being connected by tie members, said tie members having movable spacers bearing against the ends of the adjacent sections, substantially as described.

3. A cabinet of the character set forth, comprising a plurality of separable sections or units, clamping members engaging the sections or units and bridging the joint-s between them, a device connected to the clamping members and constituting a compression member, and a separate contractile tie device connecting the clamping members for drawing them toward each other, said compression member acting as a fulcrum for the clamping members, substantially as described.

4;. A cabinet of the character set forth, comprising, a plurality of separable sections or units, clamping members engaging the sections or units and bridging the joints between them, a handle bar having its ends connected to the clamping members and spaced from the sections or units, and an adjustable tie rod connecting the clamping members, for drawing them toward. each other, substantially as described.

5. cabinet of the character set forth, comprising a plurality of separable sections or units, angular 'clamping members detachably engaging the uprightcorners of the sections or units and'bridging the joints be tween them, a handle bar having its ends connected to the clamping members and being spaced from the sections or units, and a plurality of adjustable tie devices connecting the clamping members, for drawing them toward each other, said devices being disposed closer to the sections or units than the clamping members, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

ADOLF H. SCHAFFERT. Witnesses:

H. R. GLENN, H. E. WHITE. 

